Rolling mill



`Juin@ 16, 1936. G. R ROMER 2,044,545

ROLLING MILL Filed Feb. l17, 1954 L EILJ INVENTOR f wge R.R0en1- BY 35 3b' 4 Y wwwvs ma #flo ATTORNEYS Patented June 16, 1936 garant erstes ROLLING lVIl'LL George R. Roemer, Brooklyn, N. Y., assignor of one-half to Henry A. Roemer, Youngstown,

Ohio

Application February 17, 1934, Serial No. 711,645

'l Claims.

The invention relates to the rolling of steel sheets and the like by means of successive three high mills, so arranged that the material to be rolled passes successively in one direction through the adjacent rolls of adjacent mills which are feeding in the same direction, and then is passed back in the opposite direction through the adjacent rolls of said mills which are feeding inthe reverse direction, the draft of the rolls being adjusted to progressively reduce the material during each rolling step, and it being possible to repeat the above steps or some of them so as to obtain a very marked reduction in a short time, and by the use of apparatus which is relatively inexpensive and occupies a relatively small amount of space.

Single three high mills have been previously used, wherein the material is passed several times back and forth between the rolls at the two levels, but my invention has the advantage over such a rolling operation that the operations of handling the material between passes are much simplified and reduced, and also it is possible to reduce the material in a much shorter time. As

' compared to prior rolling operations wherein a large number of single mills are successively arranged, my invention enables the required reduction to be obtained by apparatus which is much simpler and less expensive, and which takes up a much smaller amount of space.

I am enabled by my apparatus, to increase the output considerably over the single type mill and to perform the last of a series of rolling operations at a relatively higher temperature which gives better surfaces to the sheets and results in a more uniform product. I am also enabled to start with material at lower temperatures than customary and still perform the last rolling operation at the same temperature as in present practice, thus preventing scaling of the surface of the sheets due to initial high temperature of the material treated. In the case of rolling stainless steel, the last rolling operation may, as is desirable, be performed at a relatively high temperature as the heat losses in this apparatus are much smaller than in the usual single, two, three or four high mills. Means have also been provided for controlling the coordinated operation of the various elements of the apparatus to operate the transferring and feeding means and to adjust the draft successively as required with a minimum loss of time and with great precision.

Other objects of the invention will be in part obvious, and in part specifically referred to in the following specification which, when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, discloses certain preferred embodiments thereof which, however, are to be merely considered as illustrative of the principles of this invention.

In the drawing,

Fig. 1 shows a side elevation of the apparatus with portions of the feeder and catcher tables cut away, and with the gear box driving mechanism removed;

Fig. 2 shows a top plan view of the mechanism for controlling the screw down devices;

Figs. 3 and 3a show certain commutators that may be employed;

Fig. 4 is a vertical section through the gear box showing preferred driving arrangements diagrammatically; and

Fig. 5 shows draft controlling commutators.

One Yembodiment of this invention, as is disclosed in Fig. 1, may comprise a pair of three high rolling mills arranged in tandem each comprising the usual upper roll I, the lower roll 2, and the middle roll 3. The tandem arranged rolling mills are preferably, though not necessarily, mounted in a single frame, as disclosed. The rolls may be driven from a main counterclockwise rotating driving shaft 4, Fig. 4, and where it is desired to make the first pass through the upper rolls, I may provide the driving shaft with a gear 5 which meshes with the driving gears 6 and 'I of the lower rolls 2, which gears in turn drive the driving gears 8 and 9 of the upper rolls I, through intermediate gears I0 and I I, as illustrated in this figure. In cases where it is desired to make the first pass through the lower rolls 2, I preferably provide the driving shaft II with a small gear I2 meshing with intermediate gears I3 and I4 in mesh with the driving gears 6 and 'I of the lower rolls 2.

The apparatus preferably includes a feeder table I5 which may be operated from a crank I6 on a shaft I'I which may be driven by any suitable means. This table may be provided. with the usual guides over which the pieces to be treated are carried by a chain carrier I8 of any desired construction, and which may also be driven in any suitable manner.`

I may employ suitable means such as chain carriers I9 and 20, located respectively between the rolls 3 and the rolls 2 to carry the material from roll to roll within the apparatus.

Suitable means such as a catcher table 2 I 'may also be provided to receive the material after it has made its first pass through the apparatus. This table may be lowered by a crank 22 on a shaft 23 similar in all respects to corresponding parts shown in connection with the feeder table, and this shaft may be operated by any suitable means. 'Ihe catcher table may be provided with guides for supporting the pieces of material, and with a chain carrier 24 of any suitable construction and which may also be operated in any suitable manner.

'Ihe upper rolls I are shown in Fig. 1 in the position they occupy after the last pass has been made, from which position they are raised into their uppermost position before the bars or the like of material are fed into the apparatus. The bearings which support these upper rolls may be raised and lowered by any suitable means. The intermediate roll 3 is not positively driven. I may provide compression springs 25 to raise the bearings when the screws 26 and 21 are rotated to lift the upper elements of the bearings, as is well understood.

'Ihe upper ends of the pairs of screws 26 and 21 may be provided with gear wheels with which mesh Worms on shafts 28 and 29, as indicated. Each of these shafts may be provided with worm gear driven through a Worm on a shaft provided with a gear 3U, which may be driven in 'one direction by means of an electromagnetically operated clutch 3l when engaged, and in the 0pposite direction by means of an electromagnetically operated clutch 32 when engaged with a gear 33 which through intermediate gears, as shown, drives the gear 30 in the opposite direction. All of the clutch members may be driven from a motor 34, Fig. 1, through suitable gear mechanisms as indicated. The screws 26 and 21 on one side of the apparatus may be provided with commutators and 36, Figs. l, 2, and 5, each of which may be provided with contact segments, as indicated in Fig. 5, to control the extent and selective engagement of the clutches to regulate the required amount of draft.

The apparatus may be set in operation by any suitable means, such as a button or switch which may set the motor 34 in operation, and also throw in the proper clutches, Fig. 2, to raise the upper rolls into their uppermost position prior to the indexing operation.

Any means as known in the art may be provided to selectively energize the proper clutches, to lower and raise the upper rolls into the proper predetermined draft position. The extent of movement and the location of the upper rolls may be controlled and predetermined by contact segments on the commutator disks 35 and 36 which, as illustrated in Fig. 5, cause the left hand upper roll to be moved lower than the right hand upper roll. With the feeder and catcher tables in the position illustrated, which vposition they may automatically assume, the carrier chain I8 on the feeder table may now be operated to move the material into the first mill. Preferably, two pieces of material are placed on` the feeding table in tandem and are fed through the upper pass of the mills in succession. After these pieces leave the rolls of the first mill, they are successively carried to the rolls of the second mill by the carrier I9, and after they have passed through the rolls of the second mill theyare deposited on the catcher table in tandem arrangement, and for this purposethe chain carrier 24 may be driven in a counterclockwise direction by any suitable means in time relation to theoperation o f the other parts of the apparatus.

After both the sheets have been deposited on the catcher table 2|, the shaft 23 is set in operation by any suitable means to lower the catchnism may be set in operation by any suitable means, to set the chain carrier 24 in operation to feed the sheets through the lower pass. The sheets are fed over the lower roll 2 at the left hand end of the machine on to the carrier 20 and from thence over the lower roll 2 at the right hand end of the machine, and thence on to the 'feeding table I5 and preferably in superposed relation, and for this purpose any suitable means may be provided to stop the sheets in the proper position and to align the sheets also laterally.

At this stage of the operation, means is set in operation, by any suitable means, to raise the tables into the position shown in Fig. 1, and to raise or otherwise adjust the upper right hand roll I under control of a segment on the commutator 36, Fig. 5, to exert the proper draft on the superposed sheets, and to lower or otherwise adjust the left hand upperl roll I under control of a segment on the commutator 35 to provide for the proper draft.

After the proper adjustment of the rolls has been made, the chain carrier I8 may again be set in operation by any suitable means, which will feed the superposed sheets through the up' yper pass when they will'be operated on by upper rolls I, and then fed out on to the catcher table 2I which in the apparatus disclosed completes the operation usually.

In Figs. 3 and 3a, I have disclosed commutator means which may be mounted on the shafts I1 and 23. This means comprises a disk 31 which, as disclosed, carries two substantially semicircular conducting segments insulated from each other, and over which the circuit made for a driving motor for the shafts may be maintained and then broken at the proper time to insure that the tables are in either their uppermost or lowermost positions. This commutator means may also include a disk 38 which may be provided with spaced conducting segments which may be employed to close an operating circuit for a driving motor for the corresponding chain carrier, such as the chain carrier I8 of the feeder table, to operate the chain carrier either forwardly or reversely, as desired, for the purpose of receiving and delivering the pieces of material operated upon.

If it is desired to control the draft manually, rather than automatically, I may substitute indicators for the commutator disks 35 and 36, which may bear indicia indicating the draft to which the rolls have been set.

This type of rolling usually in the roughing down process from bars to breakdowns will usually be done on what is known as a water mill. This type of mill may also be useful either as a water mill vor a hot mill, for the purpose of rolling breakdown packs and also the rolling of double iron packs. In the case of rolling breakdown packs there will usually be two, three or more pieces rolled at one time, and in the case of rolling double iron packs there may be all the way from two or more pieces on up to twelve or more, depending on the nal gauge of material to be nished. For the rolling and iinishing of sheet steel packs there will be from two to eight or ten pieces rolled at one time, and in the case of rolling or finishing tin plate packs there will usually be from six to twelve or more, as tin plate packs usually vary from 28 to 313 gauge, and by putting several pieces together the desired uniform gauge may be obtained from this method of rolling, and in the case of finishing of sheet steel packs they usually vary anythin from I6 gauge to 28 gauge.

The commutator segments, as shown in Fig. 1, for the regulation of the required amount of draft between passes, may be adjusted for what draft is required, depending upon the order and the amount of elongation that is practical to roll. These segments may be readily removed by being replaceably assembled on a suitable disk and for a different size order diierent segments may be installed to set the mill to take care of such order.

In the event there is any pull in the material between fore and aft rolls, the aft rolls may be of a slightly smaller diameter. On the other hand, if the diameters of the aft rolls were increased slightly, then this would cause a stretching action in the material.

This type of mill may also be useful in cold rolling of sheets of tin plate, and the like.

What I claim is:-

1. The method of rolling steel sheets, pairs and packs to thinner gauge which includes passing the material successively in the same direction between adjacent rolls of adjacent "three high mills which are feeding in said direction, thereby to subject the material to successive gauge reducing operations, and then passing the material back in the reverse direction successively between the rolls of said mills which are feeding in said reverse direction, thereby to subject said material to further successive gauge re ducing operations.

2. The method of rolling steel sheets, pairs and packs to thinner gauge which includes passing the material successively in the same direction between adjacent rolls of adjacent three high mills, at one level, thereby to subject the material to successive gauge reducing operations, and then passing the material back in the reverse direction successively between the rolls of said mills at the other level, thereby to subject said material to further successive gauge reducing operations.

3. Rolling apparatus of the class described, having juxtaposed three high mills, mounted in a common frame, said mills being constructed to receive and reduce the gauge of sheets, pairs and packs, means adapted to transfer the material from between adjacent rolls of one mill which are feeding in one direction, to adjacent rolls of the other mill which arel also feeding in said direction to successively reduce the gauge of the material, and means adapted to transfer the material from between the adjacent rolls of the second mentioned mill which are feeding in the reverse direction, back to the adjacent rolls of the rst mentioned mill which are feeding in said reverse direction thereby to subject the material to further successive gauge reducing operations.

4. Rolling apparatus of the class described, having juxtaposed three-high mills, mounted in a common frame, said mills being constructed to receive and reduce the gauge of sheets, pairs and packs, means adapted to transfer the material from between adjacent rolls of one mill at one level, to adjacent rolls of the other mill at said level to successively reduce the gauge of the material, and means adapted to transfer the material from between the adjacent rolls of the second mentioned mill which are at the other level, back to the adjacent rolls of the rst mentioned mill which are at said last mentioned level thereby to subject the material to further successive gauge reducing operations.

5. Rolling apparatus of the class described, having juxtaposed three-high mills, mounted in `a common frame, said mills being constructed to receive and reduce the gauge of sheets, pairs and packs, means adapted to transfer the material from between adjacent rolls of one mill which are feeding in one direction, to adjacent rolls of the other mill which are also feeding in said direction to successively reduce the gauge of the material, means adapted to transfer the material from between the adjacent rolls of the second mentioned mill which are feeding in the reverse direction, back to the adjacent rolls of the first mentioned mill which are feeding in said reverse direction thereby to subject the material to further successive gauge reducing operations, and means associated with each of the aforesaid mills for transferring the material from one level to the other.

6. Rolling apparatus of the class described, having juxtaposed three high mills, mounted in a common frame, said mills being constructed to receive and reduce the gauge of sheets, 'pairs and packs, means adapted to transfer the material from between adjacent rolls of one mill which are feeding in one direction, to adjacent rolls of the other mill which are also feeding in said direction to successively reduce the gauge of the material, means adapted to transfer the material from between the adjacent rolls of the second mentioned mill which are feeding in the reverse direction, back to the adjacent rolls of the rst mentioned mill which are feeding in said reverse direction thereby to subject the material to further successive gauge reducing operations, and means for coordinately adjusting the draft of said mills to successively reduce the material as it passes successively between adjacent rolls.

7. Rolling apparatus of the class described, having closely juxtaposed three high mills each constructed to receive and reduce the gauge of sheets, pairs and packs, means adapted to transfer the material from between adjacent rolls of one mill which are feeding in one direction, to adjacent rolls of the other mill which are also feeding in said direction, to successively reduce the gauge of the material, and means adapted to transfer the material from between the adjacent rolls of the second mill which are feeding in the reverse direction, back to the adjacent rolls of the first mentioned mill which are feeding in said reverse direction thereby to subject the material to further successive gauge reducing operations.

GEORGE R. ROEMER. 

